Why Does My Garage Floor Become Damaged In The Winter?

It’s winter time again. There’s snow all over the place, icicles in the trees, and the garage floor is beginning to crack. It’s not just your garage, either; concrete of all types begin to show lines and crack when the freezing temperatures hit.

A Concrete Garage Floor Will Absorb Any Liquid

Just like anything else concrete, a concrete garage floor is porous. Therefore, any type of liquid gets soaked right up. I am sure you have seen this yourself if you have ever changed your own oil without a garage floor covering of some sort, and noticed that even a drop of oil will turn in to a nice, permanent stain. You can take some comfort in the fact that everyone’s concrete garage floors have the same issue. Garage flooring that is uncovered will also absorb water. This doesn’t sound bad, since water doesn’t stain. However, during the winter months, water can have an unexpected effect…

Water Is A Frigid Saboteur

In most parts of the world, it will get cold enough for water to freeze at some point in the year. Materials contract when they get cold, but water becomes solid. Although ice is no match for concrete when it comes to durability, tiny bits of solidified water added to your concrete will definitely create an unwanted solidity. As the concrete begins to contract, this solidity can become quite destructive.

Moisture Is Very Tenacious

“But I keep my garage door closed!” you say. Well, that doesn’t always matter. Humidity in the air can still get to your garage floor, even if your garage has been kept closed up. No garage is waterproof, so any garage floor is susceptible to the effects of moisture, even those protected by doors and walls. Not only that, but moisture can also creep in to the concrete from the sides and underneath, though that depends largely on your area, just how much rain you’ve had, how long water sat against your garage, and how high your water table is.

A Garage Floor Covering Can Prevent This Problem!

Garage floor coverings, such as tiles, mats, and the like, definitely help protect your concrete, and can play a large part in the fight against cracks and lines. You can’t do much about any of the moisture that comes from the earth itself but, honestly, that’s normally a very small part of the equation. The majority of the moisture will be from the air itself. The only time ground moisture really comes into effect is when you’re considering an epoxy garage floor coating as they can easily be damaged by pretty much any moisture coming from underneath, even though it is the best solution against water from above. Using a garage floor covering instead can be helpful since they will be there to absorb any moisture that they don’t deflect.

Will A Garage Floor Covering Help If I’m Sure That Moisture Wasn’t To Blame?

It definitely will, yes. Besides the obvious effects of the sun, which doesn’t account for much in a garage, the garage floor’s main warmth source will come from underneath. With a coating or covering, this warmth can be kept down in the concrete, and keeping the garage floor a bit warmer will mean less contracting, and generally less cracking.

Check out Sweet Garage Floor for more garage flooring information.